Jace
by WiccaChick98
Summary: Features younger Ben when he first moves to Charleston and makes his very first friend. But maybe friendship in South Carolina isn't all it's cracked up to be?


**Hi, it's been a while so I apologize! I've recently moved, and that's been kinda really hectic and stressful. :)**

**So this is a story about one of Ben's first friends he made when he moved to Charleston (for all points and purposes, let's pretend that he hasn't always lived there- I'm not sure if the books say one way or another)**

**Disclaimer: Nothing creative, I'm sorry. But I don't own Virals.**

Benjamin Blue watched all the kids playing on the beach and looked up at his mother from where he was standing, half hiding behind her. She smiled and made a shooing gesture with her hands. "Go on, Benji. I'm sure there are a whole bunch of boys who'd like to play with you."

He'd only lived in Charleston for about a month, when his dad moved them down for a new job at a science lab where he shuttled people to and fro on his boat, and Ben couldn't seem to find any friends. He lived on a tiny island just off the coast, and he had yet to discover any other kids his age living there. The houses seemed to only have elderly couples or middle-aged men and women with kids in college.

He looked back at the children and walked towards them slowly, a bit unsure of what they'd think of him. Did they even want another playmate? He doubted it- they seemed perfectly content with their current friends. Ben looked around helplessly for someone to play with. Some kids were stopping and looking, but only for a second before going back to what they'd been doing. No one invited him to play, as usual. This was his sixth time coming to this beach with his mom, and Ben was losing hope quickly.

"Hey, st-stop it!" a voice whimpered, catching the five year old's attention. He looked around for the origin of the sound, and saw a boy sitting on the ground, looking like he'd been pushed down, sniffling as a bigger kid stood over him, holding a beach ball.

"St-stop it!" the older boy mimicked. "What are you going to do, shorty? Hit me?"

"G-give it back!" The little boy reached for the ball, but the older kid held it over his head. "It's mine!"

"It's mine, now!"

Ben didn't like it when anyone was being picked on. He'd only purposefully bullied someone once before, and he didn't like the bad feeling it gave him when his victim burst into tears, especially when it ultimately resulted in his parents taking away his fishing poles for a week.

Before he knew what he was doing, he walked up to the older kid and said, "Give it back to him!" The little boy went silent.

"Aw, and you're going to stop me?" The big kid was a lot bigger up close than when he was farther away. But Ben didn't flinch. His dad had told him to never back down from a challenge, no matter how scary it looked.

"Yes!" With that, Ben shoved the bully, catching him off guard, and he stumbled back, dropping the ball. The little boy snatched it before the older kid could grab it again. "Now say you're sorry!"

The older kid laughed uneasily, but Ben raised his fist and he said, "Fine. Whatever. Sorry, shrimp."

"I-it's okay," the little kid said quietly.

"Chance!" a woman yelled. "Come on, honey! Let's go home!"

The older kid frowned, but left with the yelling woman, glowering over his shoulder at the two boys.

"Th-thank you," the little kid said. "He was mean! Do you want to play?"

This was the first time anyone here had asked Ben to play. He found himself smiling. "Okay! I'm Ben."

"I'm Jason Taylor, but my friends call me Jace."

They tossed the ball back and forth, playing a slightly altered version of catch. "How old are you?" Jace asked.

"Five."

"Me, too!" Then his face reddened slightly. "Well, I just turned five last week. You look bigger than just turning five. Do you go to school yet?"

Ben nodded.

"I'm going to start in September. My mom says that I'll be getting a really nice teacher. Do you have a nice teacher?"

"I don't know. I just moved here."

"Oh, so we're both new!" Jace squeaked. "Will you be in first grade?"

Another nod. Jace didn't seem to mind that Ben didn't have much to say. He talked enough for the both of them. "I'll be in kindergarten. I don't know anyone in first grade! Well, I know you now, so that means I do. That is so cool! Do you like cars?"

"Boats."

"My mommy and daddy have a boat! Maybe you can go on it with us! But I really like cars. My daddy has six!"

"Six cars?" Ben was sure Jace was lying. No one in his old town had six cars.

"Yeah. He said he got them from..." He struggled for the name. "Fraud! He got them from Fraud!"

"You mean Ford?"

His cheeks turned pink. "Yeah. Ford. He got them all from Ford! What about superheroes? I love superheroes! My favorite is Superman! What's yours? And do you like ice cream? My favorite kind is chocolate! Do you play sports? I like baseball and football and lacrosse and golf! What's your favorite color? Mine is..." He listened to Jace babble on about his favorite TV shows and movies and foods, not really being able to say anything because he didn't want to interrupt in case he got mad. But he decided he didn't mind not having to talk a lot. He'd rather be quiet. Besides, it was kind of funny how fast Jace talked.

Ben and Jace tossed the ball for hours, before Mrs. Blue told him it was time to go home. He said goodbye to his new friend and left. Jace watched him go, waving and smiling. Ben was nice. He liked him.

"So you made a new friend?" Ben's mom asked on the car ride home.

Ben nodded. "His name is Jace. He talks a lot, but he's alright."

"I'm so glad, honey! Maybe we can have him over for supper some time?"

He liked that idea a lot, and smiled at his reflection in the window. He'd finally made a new friend.

* * *

Every weekend, the two boys met and played with whatever toys they'd brought until school started. Even then, they occasionally saw each other at the store and at the new park or the beach. Ben kept Jace out of trouble by keeping an eye on him and making sure bullies stayed away from his younger new friend.

"What school do you go to?" Jace asked one day, months after they'd met, while they took turns on the swing.

Ben had never really thought about it. "I don't know. What school do you go to?"

"Acadymie Private School," Jace answered. Ben made a face.

"I don't go there. I go to a public school."

"What's it like?"

Ben shrugged. "A teacher talks in front of a lot of kids, and then we do work. And have recess and lunch."

Jace looked confused. "My mommy said that public school was weird, but it sounds like my school. Do you have friends there?"

Ben shrugged. "Kind of." He played with a few boys during recess and sat with some kids at lunch, but it wasn't the same as when he and Jace played. They were sometimes mean, and sometimes they left him out. He and Jace never did that to each other.

"But I'm your best friend, right?"

He thought for a second, then nodded slowly.

Jace grinned. "I'm so happy! I have a best friend now! I've never had one before!"

Though Ben wasn't showing his enthusiasm as much as Jace was, he was thrilled too.

"What about clothes? Do you have to wear special clothes in public school?"

He shook his head, and Jace gasped. "Really? I have to wear a tie and nice pants!"

Ben's dad had needed to wear a tie and nice pants when he worked at their old town. He always was complaining about it choking him, and had even said once that it would eventually kill him. It had scared Ben, which made his mom snap at his dad and hug him. She'd said it was just an expression, whatever that meant. Maybe Jace was doing that, too? He didn't know, and didn't really care to ask.

The clouds then opened up, and it started raining. Jace gasped. Ben laughed. "Now we can play in the mud!" he said happily.

"I've only done that a few times," Jace admitted. "Let's do it!"

Soon they were making mud forts and making roads for Jace's toy cars. Ben's mom saw what they were doing and shook her head, smiling and rolling her eyes as she watched under the pavillion. Jace's nanny had the same response, but was a little exasperated.

"Look!" Jace said as he finished his new fort.

"Cool," Ben said. "I'm digging a river that I can take my boat out on and protect my house."

Even after the light rain let up, they kept playing, giggling at the new things they made, then having even more fun playing Godzilla and knocking them down.

"It's time to go home, Benji," Ben's mom said after a while. "You father has dinner waiting."

"We should head home as well, Jason," Jace's nanny said.

Both boys looked a little sad, but neither argued. Then Mrs. Blue grinned and pulled out her camera. "Wait, let's get a picture of you two!" She turned it on and fiddled with it for a second before saying, "Stand closer together. Ben, maybe you should throw your arm around Jace's shoulder."

Ben complied, and the nanny nodded. "That looks great. Smile, you two!"

Mrs. Blue took the picture and smiled. "It's a keeper. I'll print off a copy for each of the boys to keep. Imagine looking back at these pictures ten years from now and seeing yourselves covered head to toe in mud!" At this, she chuckled and said, "Let's get you home and cleaned up, Benji."

* * *

Ben didn't see Jace for a few months after that. He was a little worried and disappointed. He couldn't even find him on the beach or at the stores. Did he move? Ben wondered. Why didn't he tell me?

He got his answer as he was walking to the ferry from school one day. He heard a familiar voice and turned to see Jace playing in a big yard with someone who looked familiar and another two boys. He had many conflicting thoughts, but he was mainly happy.

"Jace!" he called. Everyone turned, and Jace looked uncomfortable. Ben ignored it. "Hey, I haven't seen you in forever! Where'd you go?"

"Hey, I know you!" the familiar-looking kid said. "You're that punk from the beach!"

Ben remembered him, too- Chance. "What are you doing to Jace?" he demanded, mood souring.

The kid laughed. "Why don't you tell him what we're doing, Jason?"

"Tell me what?" Ben was confused, and he didn't like where this was headed.

Jace walked towards him, head low. "We can't be friends anymore, Ben," he mumbled, face bright red.

"Why not?"

"Mom and Dad said it was a bad idea," Jace said. "We can't be friends."

"But you're my best friend!" Ben said incredulously. "Why is it a bad idea?"

Chance answered this one. "Because you're too poor to be our friends! Your mom and dad have to work for their money! You're a... A..." He tried to think of a name.

Jace piped up. "A broke boy?"

"Good one, Jason!" he laughed. "Yeah, broke boy. That's all you are, and that's all you'll ever be. Our parents want us to play with someone with more money. I probably shouldn't even be talking to you right now, or I'll get poor, too!"

All of the boys laughed, including Jace. Ben looked at them, feeling as helpless as he had at the beach before he met his former best friend. Tears welled up in his eyes as they laughed, but he didn't cry. Crying would make him look like a baby, and he didn't want that.

Too bad Chance noticed. "Aw, poor little broke boy. You gonna cry?"

Ben gritted his teeth, not sad anymore, but mad. As Chance kept making fun of him, he saw everyone was still laughing. Everyone. He lost his temper and punched his taunter in the face, then took off down the road. He almost missed the ferry ride home.

The weeks that followed were miserable. Ben felt lost and depressed. Even going fishing with his dad didn't make him feel better, which terrified his parents.

"We need to do something, Tom!" he heard his mother snap at his father one night. "He's going into a depression! Six year olds shouldn't be getting depressed! They should be happy!"

"Well, Myra," his father replied, "you were the one who let him play with the Taylor kid, even though you knew that this might happen. I warned you about this. It happened to me when I was younger."

"Which explains why you're such a jackass!" his mom hissed. Ben ran back into his room as the door opened and his father walked out, grumbling that he was going to the bar.

This happened a few times before his mom finally lost it and said, "Fine! But when you come back, I won't be here!"

And she wasn't there the next morning. Or the morning after. Ben wondered if she'd run away, like some people did when they were mad. His fears were confirmed when she called and told him she needed some time away, but would be back in a few weeks. No one tucked him in at night anymore, or kissed his head, or read him a story. It was like he was losing everyone. It even seemed like his school friends wanted nothing to do with him. He started to get used to feeling alone, learning to like it, even. He fished by himself and admired the boats at the docks. He stopped going to the beach and the park to meet friends.

He also learned to hate rich kids. He had been perfectly happy until Jason decided Ben's family didn't have enough money and called him broke boy. His mom and dad were happy together until Jason stopped being friends with him. It was all his fault.

Ben hated him.

As he walked to his fishing spot on a Saturday morning, he saw someone come out of the door connected to one of the houses. A glance told him it was a kid about his age. He was a little shocked to see a child on this island.

"Hi," the boy said. "I've been meaning to introduce myself, but I haven't found the time." He offered his hand. "I'm Shelton."

"Ben." He shook his hand, thinking, This kid uses big words for someone my age.

"What're you doing?" Shelton asked.

"Fishing." Ben wasn't talkative. He hadn't been for a while.

Shelton looked a little embarrassed. "My mom is going to make me do chores if I don't find something to do. Is it okay if I tag along? I've never been fishing before."

Ben spluttered. "Never?"

"Never," Shelton answered. Ben shook his head.

"That's crazy. You can watch, if you want."

"Thank you!" The two boys started walking. "I've always been the only kid here. I'm glad there's someone else here, too."

Ben just shrugged, not sure if he could trust Shelton or not. He seemed nice, but then again, so had Jason.

"I've seen you out a few times, Ben," Shelton said. "You were playing with those other kids, so I didn't bug you. They always picked on me because I didn't have as much money as they did. But you're not like them. I can tell. You're more quiet, and those boys won't ever shut up long enough for you to say anything." He laughed at that, and so did Ben.

Maybe Shelton wasn't so bad, after all.

**So what did you think? Good plot twist, huh? Yet _another _great reason for Ben to hate Jason's guts!**

**And for those of you who liked the _Coming to Terms _story and wanted more, I have a few ideas for little one-shots, and I'll take kind of a poll on which one you guys want more:**

**Hi falls in love for the first time**

**Jason reflecting on what he'd done**

**Tory having a pregnancy scare**

**The birth of Tory and her husband's first child**

**I _will, _most certainly do a short oneshot about when (being careful with my wording to avoid spoilers) the _new character_ gets back home.**

**And if you haven't read _Coming to Terms _already, I'd really appreciate it if you did.**

**Okay, I think I've talked long enough on here. Review please! ;)**

**-WiccaChick98**


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